Telecommunications technicians, such as so-called “Installation and Maintenance” (I&M) technicians, may visit customer sites to install new equipment, set up new services, or to service existing equipment or services. Frequently an I&M technician needs to gather local or district-specific information to complete a “job order” or task. For example, an I&M technician may need to know cross-box locations, pricing information, service information, cable records, plat information, or other information needed to carry out his or her assignment.
For many telephone companies, including Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs), such local information is generally not stored on centralized legacy systems. Accordingly, although I&M technicians can presently access information stored on these central legacy systems using portable laptops and custom software, they are unable to remotely access the local information using their portable laptops.
According to the conventional approach to this problem, an I&M technician seeking local information must make one or more telephone calls to local offices of his or her employer. Several calls may be required. The I&M technician may be put on hold as the call attendant collects the information or tends to other business. The time the I&M technician must spend in collecting local information reduces his or her job efficiency and may increase costs to customers. Furthermore, miscommunications between individuals may cause incorrect information to be transferred. For example, the data retrieved by the call attendant may not be accurately interpreted by the call attendant who has a lower level of technical expertise than the I&M technician. These are significant drawbacks to the current approach.